The use of electric shock pulses to control pain, stimulate muscles and treat edema and inflammation in the human body is well known. Electric shock pulses, which produce and electromagnetic field, are passed through the tissue to be treated by placing electrodes on the skin about the tissue to be treated. The electrodes must make good, continuous and uniform contact with the skin, otherwise electrical hot spots occur which may cause skin irritation or even skin burns.
Electrical therapeutic devices have been made which have electrodes comprised of metal plates and sponges which extend between the metal plates and the patient's skin. These sponges however must constantly be moistened with wet lubricant in order to avoid drying and to maintain good electric contact with the skin. The wet lubricant oftentimes causes the skin to become mottled or macerated during prolonged use. Furthermore, these types of electrodes are typically in the shape of small patches which do not conform well to body extremities such as the hands.
Devices have been devised which have electrodes comprised of a material of interlocked metal rings, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,498,059 and 4,664,118. These electrodes are placed directly against the skin of a person. However, because the material is constructed of stiff, segmented components, here again it does not conform well to the extremities of the body such as the hands and feet. Furthermore, it does not have stretching capabilities to insure a snug, uniform fit about the extremity. This lack of body conformity results in an uncomfortable and inconsistent contact with the skin which may cause hot spots as well as an uneven distribution of the current through the underlying tissue.
Electrodes have also been made of metalized fabrics comprised of a woven nylon mesh coated with silver. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,265 these metalized fabrics have been used to treat open wound lesions electrochemically be wetting the mesh with a saline solution and applying the wetted material directly to the open lesion. An electrical potential gradient forces silver ions to migrate from the metalized fabric into the body tissue. This has been found to cause cellular modifications to arrest multiplication of cancer cells and stimulate wound healing. Clinical medicine had previously recognized the antiseptic and antimicrobial properties of silver and the use of silver coated fabrics for silver donation as described in "Electrochemical Properties of Silver-Nylon Fabrics" by Andrew A. Marino, et al. in the January 1985 issue of Electrochemical Science and Technology. However, these have not been used for the treatment of pain and edema.